Thank you for sharing your beautiful pics. We'll be there in 3 weeks. It is the highlight of our year.

Meeker

06-03-2013, 12:48 AM

Did you camp at Lone Rock?

No, coming from Denver so camped at the Bullfrog RV park.

Bambamski1

06-03-2013, 10:59 AM

great pictures thanks for sharing I want to head down there at some point for sure!

TxsRiverRat

06-03-2013, 02:16 PM

Glad you had a nice time.

I am one of those people (apparently in the minority) that had a horrible experience and wished i'd never been there.

Meeker

06-03-2013, 09:56 PM

Glad you had a nice time.

I am one of those people (apparently in the minority) that had a horrible experience and wished i'd never been there.

What was you issue (s)?

TxsRiverRat

06-04-2013, 01:19 PM

Honestly, it was the worst “vacation” I’ve ever had.

Houseboating is not vacation IMO, it’s alot of work. Vacation to be is relaxing, sippin on a cold beer or margarita...

What went wrong for me?

1. ARAMARK manages the lake, houseboat rentals and marinas – er, i mean MISmanages it. Honestly, they told us only 2 people from each crew needed to go to the class on how to operate the boat – we ALL should have been there and all would have benefitted. They even told us there would be no need to empty the septic on the boat for the whole week, and by day 2 or 3, we were on a floating toilet.

2. Launching out of Wahweep – what a clusterF... I knew when I saw folks lifting grandpas lazyboy (no joke) over the rail into the boat, we were doomed...

3. The houseboat did not perform as promised, and we did not have the equipment onboard they should have provided. Example: boat max speed was supposed to be 12-15, our max speed was 5-6 on calm water. Example: they provided a spare prop, no prop puller.

4. Waterskiing... Waterski Mag calls this a waterskiing paradise – whhhaaaaaaat....? Once the water hits one of those beautiful monotonous red canyon walls, the water reverbs for the next 12 hours... great waterskiing? yeahhhhh right... lol

5. Beach space: The competition for finding a place to anchor is fierce... If you haven’t beached by say 6 PM, you’ll be anchoring into a rock canyon (if you’re lucky)... Oh, and the pure joy of digging four 3’ deep and 3’ deep anchor holes in the sand, man, that was so much fun...

6. Flash storms – God help you if a flash wind or flash rain storm catches you in the main channel...

7. What a blast gassing up @ the Dangling Rope was... :rolling eyes:

Was alot of this my inexperience and ignorance? Perhaps... But I hated the experience, the lake totally sucks for slalom skiing, and there’s only so much red rock you can experience before you’re bored to tears.

For a waterskiing vacation, give me a south Florida ski school, I promise I’ll have more fun.

Skipper

06-04-2013, 02:06 PM

It certainly is possible to have a really crappy time at Lake Powell. But by the same token it is a very beautiful place to be on the water. The lake is not surrounded by rocks. At least half of the 212 plus miles of shoreline is sand. I typically put my slalom course at the back of the canyons where the shore is sand and brush and it is protected from light winds.

The winds are always a problem in the summer. It is pretty much expected that it will get windy each afternoon. On most days it clears up again before sunset for more good skiing.

My biggest complaint is the influx of wake surfing barges that create enormous rollers, churn up the water, and have no regard for other people on the water. I have run into them on every body of water (except private ski lakes). Now that these boats have white lights on their towers they usually take over what would be excellent skiing water in the evening.

Houseboating is not easy. I never run the boat at speeds over 6-8 mph because I keep the rpms low to save fuel costs. No need to go over 2500 rpms because the 1-3 mph difference in speed is negligible in the long run. No doubt the seasonal crews that rent the boats have much room for improvement but I go every year, so I don't have a problem.

I lived at Lake Powell from 1969 until 1996. I try to vacation there every year. It is definately not as nice of some of the public water I skied on back east. But those places had nothing on the beauty of Lake Powell.

Brian B

06-05-2013, 03:42 PM

Lake Powell sucks! Dont go! :)

And you can complain about wakesurfing all you want at other lakes. The tour boats (displacement hulls) on Lake Powell are the worst. They'll capsize you if you're not careful!

djkslc

06-05-2013, 03:59 PM

I was in Bullfrog the week before. I would choose a Lake Powell trip probably over anything.

Dylan

06-05-2013, 04:07 PM

Great pics! Compared to my Memorial Day at the local Zoo of a lake, that looks excellent!

Brian B

06-05-2013, 04:16 PM

Great pics! Compared to my Memorial Day at the local Zoo of a lake, that looks excellent!

What lake?

19_Skier

06-05-2013, 04:24 PM

I was in Bullfrog the week before. I would choose a Lake Powell trip probably over anything.

looks like some nice geology in the background, sad that I noticed that before the sky ski....:D

DemolitionMan

06-05-2013, 04:48 PM

Great pics!

TayMC197

06-05-2013, 05:04 PM

It certainly is possible to have a really crappy time at Lake Powell. But by the same token it is a very beautiful place to be on the water. The lake is not surrounded by rocks. At least half of the 212 plus miles of shoreline is sand. I typically put my slalom course at the back of the canyons where the shore is sand and brush and it is protected from light winds.

The winds are always a problem in the summer. It is pretty much expected that it will get windy each afternoon. On most days it clears up again before sunset for more good skiing.

My biggest complaint is the influx of wake surfing barges that create enormous rollers, churn up the water, and have no regard for other people on the water. I have run into them on every body of water (except private ski lakes). Now that these boats have white lights on their towers they usually take over what would be excellent skiing water in the evening.

Houseboating is not easy. I never run the boat at speeds over 6-8 mph because I keep the rpms low to save fuel costs. No need to go over 2500 rpms because the 1-3 mph difference in speed is negligible in the long run. No doubt the seasonal crews that rent the boats have much room for improvement but I go every year, so I don't have a problem.

I lived at Lake Powell from 1969 until 1996. I try to vacation there every year. It is definately not as nice of some of the public water I skied on back east. But those places had nothing on the beauty of Lake Powell.

You think a Malibu will pull the course nicely? ;-)

Dylan

06-05-2013, 05:25 PM

What lake?

Havazoo.
Never have been on a holiday weekend, and never will again. Legitimate 3' rollers, and a few 4'ers. Too much for our little boat.

Skipper

06-05-2013, 05:48 PM

You think a Malibu will pull the course nicely? ;-)

I am sure that it will! ;)

So long as there are not any surf barges in the area. I don't have to worry about the tour boats because I choose my water carefully.

Brian B

06-08-2013, 12:56 AM

Havazoo.
Never have been on a holiday weekend, and never will again. Legitimate 3' rollers, and a few 4'ers. Too much for our little boat.